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Last night Bryce Harper made his first appearance as a professional baseball player for the Washington Nationals. He had played in the instructional league before but that is really just a scrimmage and those in the know don't really count that as official.
He played right field and hit seventh for the Scottsdale Scorpions which is a team comprised of top prospects from various teams around baseball. Much to my surprise Harper didn't go 4-4 with four grand slams with 27 outfield assists; clearly he's a bust already.
What he did do was impress with his natural ability to hit the baseball. Keith Law tweeted this picture of a brick wall out in center field that Harper hit during batting practice, a home run which Adam Kilgore claims caused to scouts to giggle.
In the game, Harper failed to record a hit in his first three at bats; a mile high pop out that stayed in the infield, a strikeout on three pitches, and a line out to center. But in his fourth, he came to the plate with the bases loaded and hit this shot that nearly left the yard for a grand slam.
Instead it would have to just go down as two rbi ground rule double. Not the sixteen rbi performance i was expecting, but I guess I'll have to just take it. What is most important however is that Harper has played his first game as a professional. This is real now. He'll play his next game on Saturday.
(H/T: Nationals Enquirer)
Today's must-reads from around the SB Nation network:
- A quick review of the State f the Redskins with Hogs Haven's Six Pack.
- Testudo Times breaks down the preseason ACC Basketball Media Poll.
- Japers' Rink rounds up all media Power Rankings to show where the Caps stack up.
On tap today on SB Nation D.C.: Jake Whitacre recaps the Wizards' preseason by the numbers.